The subject matter of the present invention relates to a Near Wellbore Modeling method and apparatus adapted for use in connection with a workstation computer for modeling a single wellbore of a reservoir field in much greater detail during the modeling of a plurality of wellbores of the reservoir field for the purpose of determining the special characteristics of that single wellbore.
There is a growing need in the marketplace for an improved simulation tool for the modeling of individual wellbores. In some cases, individual wellbores are ceasing to produce at very low watercuts. This is believed to be the result of a subtle near wellbore effect and laboratory work is needed to characterize the processes involved at that wellbore. However, there exists no reservoir modeling software which is capable of accurately modeling the processes which are occurring near the wellbore. Consequently, there is a need for a software tool that is capable of modeling the behavior of a wellbore within and in the vicinity of the wellbore. The need for such a modeling tool is great and the need is expanding for a number of reasons. First, the number of wells with highly complex geometries is increasing steadily. The modeling tools available today are unable to reflect the flow processes which dictate the behavior of such wells accurately. Secondly, there is a need to predict the results of wellbore treatments. In the case of complex well geometries, existing tools cannot adequately represent near wellbore flow processes before and after treatment. Finally, simulation has major benefits to offer to a wide range of engineers. In the past, however, the technology has been rendered inaccessible to them because it has been insufficiently user friendly; The combination of automatic gridding technology and easy to use interfaces now makes it possible for a production engineer to gain the benefits of simulation without having to become a simulation expert. Thus, there appears to be a large market for a “Near Wellbore Modeling” tool of this kind.
A number of other products are used in conjunction with the “Near Wellbore Modeling” tool of the present invention. For example, a product known as “Eclipse Office”, disclosed in prior pending UK patent application number serial number 9817501.1 filed Aug. 12, 1998, provides much of the software infrastructure which such a Near Wellbore Modeling tool would require, the “Eclipse Office” UK patent application being incorporated by reference into this specification. In addition, a software product known as “Flogrid” includes a “geological model reader”; it also includes another software product known as the “Petragrid” unstructured gridder. The “Flogrid” product is disclosed in prior pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/034,701 filed Mar. 4, 1998 entitled “Simulation gridding method and apparatus including a structured areal gridder adapted for use by a reservoir simulator”, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference into this specification. The “Petragrid” unstructured gridder is disclosed in prior pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/873,234 filed Jun. 11, 1997, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The “Petragrid” unstructured gridder has developed the technology required to model the near wellbore region in fine detail. The “Multi-Segmented Well Model”, disclosed in this application, enables engineers to model flow processes within the wellbore much more accurately. By combining these technologies (Eclipse Office, the Flogrid geological model reader, Petragrid, and the Multi-Segmented Well Model) with some new capabilities for interaction with the simulation model, a unique “Near Wellbore Modeling” product results which will enable an engineer to predict the behavior of individual and specific wellbores in a reservoir field.